E-ink Weather Display

It's been seven years since my last post. I'm a bit surprised that everything is still here. Anyway...

I turned an old Nook e-reader into a weather display.

I am still thrilled with my purchase of a Nook. It has lasted over seven years as an e-reader and works just as well as when it was new. I've replaced the battery once, which was pretty straightforward.

However, Barnes and Noble have since released a Nook with a backlight. The screen without a backlight is amazing in bright light, but being able to easily read in low light conditions was a very tempting feature. Having a newly redundant Nook with a beautiful e-ink display was one reason for starting this project.

The other reason is that we recently purchased a personal weather station. The optional display they offer for it is kinda awful. We can do better, and nearly for free!

By popular request, here are details on how I did it:

Step 1. Root your Nook. 
This allows you to install Android apps on your Nook.
I made a post about this back in 2013.  I don't have much to add.


Step 2. Install the Electric Sign app. 
Electric Sign is an app by Jeremy Friesner that lets you easily use your Android-based device as a self-updating display. It loads a website at the interval you specify.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sugoi.electricsign

He has also made the source code available on GitHub.
https://github.com/jfriesne/Electric-Sign

The app lets you specify how often it reloads the website. I have it set for every 5 minutes. 

Step 3. Build a website. 
This was one of the more challenging parts for me.
Luckily, I found some amazing examples to go by.

This is the one whose code I used as the basis for mine:  galacticstudios.org/kindle-weather-display/

They provide a download of their code under the "Setting Up the Server" section. It uses PHP to pull data from a weather service API and turn it into an 600x800 pixel PNG image. They used an old Kindle, so there are a bunch of details if you are using that platform. 

Other great examples include:  

mpetroff.net/2012/09/kindle-weather-display/

shatteredhaven.com/2012/11/1347365-kindle-weather-display.html (This one uses NOAA data.)

The Weather Underground API is only accessible if you have a personal weather station. If you have one, link it to update data to Weather Underground. wunderground.com/pws/overview Then, you can create an API key, and the documentation on the API can be found here.   

In the past, I'd played a bit with the Nest API to pull data into a google spreadsheet. This works in a similar way.

Ok. Now to learn enough PHP to cobble something together that does what I want. Luckily the internet is an unending font of knowledge. Unfortunately, the resulting code looks exactly like you would expect from an amateur building his first program while teaching himself the language. I'm sorry. 

Download source code.

I needed a way to be able to run PHP scripts on my computer to test things as I go. XAMPP does exactly this. It can be found here:  apachefriends.org/index.html 

After much trial and error, I got something I am happy with. 

As a side note, the Nook I have is an older device. It has issues with modern https websites. It means you likely won't be able to pull up just any weather website. This isn't an issue for me since I wanted to create my own custom display, but it is something to be aware of.

Step 4. Host your website. 
I didn't feel like paying someone to host it for me, and there was no need for it to be available outside of my home network. So, I started thinking of other options.

I have a desktop computer that is on most of the time. But, "most of the time" is not "all of the time." I'd prefer something that was more available.

I considered building a stand alone web server. That felt like massive overkill, and during the pandemic I had limited accessibility to free old computers to re-purpose.

My router lets me attach an external drive for storage, but there is no ability to host a website.

I found an example using a Raspberry Pi. That could work, but I was trying to minimize the cost. I was hesitant to purchase something if there was another way.

I have a Western Digital networked hard drive. Its operating system is a bare-bones distribution of Linux. I wondered if that could be used... Turns out that it can, and someone has already done it:  community.wd.com/t/app-webhosting-for-firmware-v4-10-2015/94892  They even made an installer available.

The downside is that the free authentication system for downloading it is broken, and the hosted ads are some of the sketchiest I've seen in a while. But, I had an old prepaid debit card with a few bucks left on it, so I gave the donation option a try. Others had commented that it still worked even though the free method was broken. The extensive contributions of the developer on the WD community forums are what convinced me to try sending a donation.

With $10 sent to a stranger on the internet, I had my own tiny little web server up and running without having to add another device to my network.

I don't think I recommend this option. It only made sense for me since I already had that exact model of WDMyCloud. Barring that I would have likely gone with re-purposing an obsolete computer as a web server. 

If you are going with the WDMyCloud option, here are some details for setting things up.

• Give your WDMyCloud a static IP address in its network settings. 
• Turn on SSH access in the WD settings so you can remotely access the command line, and be sure to change the default password when you do. In windows command prompt, then type "ssh root@[IP ADDRESS]" to connect.
• The default directory where websites are hosted is:  /var/www/html/
• The server error log is:  /var/log/nginx/error.log
• You can set this up as a network share for easily transferring files by adding an entry in /etc/samba/overall_share and then restarting samba.
• There is a setting that caught me - the WDMyCloud is set up for a production environment. So once a PHP script runs, it is stored in memory until the device is restarted. This is to maximize speed. It doesn't have to keep accessing the hard drive, but it has no way of knowing if a file changed. I am using it more as a development platform. I am making constant changes and tweaks. Change this setting so it verifies the most recent version is in memory. We aren't expecting thousands of hits. A little disk access won't be a big deal. In the file /etc/php5/cli/conf.d/05-opcache.ini change opcache.validate_timestamps=true. 

Potential improvements. 
Electric Sign never does a  full screen refresh to clear up artifacts that occur over time on the e-ink display.

The easy way around this is to enable the setting where Electric Sign writes the image to a screensaver. When the Nook goes to sleep, it refreshes the screen when the screensaver starts.

The downside is that I lose about 40 pixels at the bottom of the screen. This is where the nook puts the wake up prompt for exiting the screensaver.

I'd like to modify the Electric Sign app to add a screen refresh and reclaim those 40 pixels. With the source code available, there is a chance.

Applied Science on YouTube did a fascinating experiment playing with E-paper display update rate. I can't see how to apply anything he did to an old e-reader, but it is still a fascinating watch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsbiO8EAsGw&feature=youtu.be



For now, the display lives behind our kitchen sink. It sits on a stand made from the pulley from a broken alternator and a bit of hex bar brazed together. 

Rooting a Nook

I am the happy owner of a Nook Simple Touch. I love how compact and portable it is. The battery lasts for weeks, and reading on the E-Ink screen is a joy. It is a wonderful product.

This post is about a way to make it just a bit better. The Nook operating system is Android 2.1, but it is completely locked down into the pre-installed apps. By rooting the device, you can open it up for customization.

There are several benefits to rooting the Nook:

1. You can install other apps using NTGAppsAttack. Lifehacker.com has a post which lists several useful apps.  
2. You can install a reader app that lets you view many different eBook formats. 
3. You can rotate the screen orientation. 
4. You can reassign what the different buttons do. 
5. You can make many other tweaks to customize the interface. 

The instructions I followed are posted on the Babbling Engineer blog. 

The method uses NookManager, a tool which makes it very easy. 

Following their instructions worked perfectly. I have very little to add about the process. I am very happy with my rooted Nook, and would recommend others to try it!

Plant Velcro

I want to spread the word about a wonderful product. It was discovered while wandering through the local Lowe's or Home Depot. I don't remember which, but they both carry it. 

It is Velcro! For plants!!

Velcro brand Plant Ties, to be precise. 

If you have ever tried to tie plants to a trellis or cage, you know that there are many inexpensive and semi-frustrating options. These include wire, twine, and the like. 

The Velcro version offers three key benefits: 

• It is flat and wide like a piece of tape. This makes it much gentler on the plants and less likely to cut into the stems than wire or twine. 
• It is fast. Very fast. There are no knots to tie, or wire to twist. Just cut and wrap. 
• It is reusable. It can be easily removed without cutting. 

To gain these benefits, there is a minor downside. It does cost a bit more than the alternatives at just under $4.00 for a 45 foot roll. 

A word of caution:  beware buying this online. Some places are charging close to $20 for the same thing. 

Here you can see it in use. In the first picture, is it supporting a tomato plant. The second shows it supporting a branch on a plumeria. 

 

Brew Hauler II

A while ago, I described a modification I made to a brew hauler to keep it from sagging. (I also explained what a brew hauler is...)

Now, I'm going to describe a modification to keep the brew hauler from getting tangled.

I tend to leave my brew hauler on the carboy throughout fermentation. This can result in stuff being spilled and general filth accumulating on the brew hauler. I typically run it through the washing machine after brewing a batch to clean it up.

This usually results in the straps becoming twisted, tangled, and slid out-of-place. This requires minutes (MINUTES!!) of tedious untangling. This post shows you how this can be eliminated with a few mere hours of work.  


Here you can see a tangled and discombobulated brew hauler after it has been washed.

Here is a closer view. You can see the ends of the straps bunched closely together. The handles and straps can be rotated around making it difficult to know which side should be up.

Step 1 is to sort out the brew hauler and place it on the carboy.

Step 2 is to arrange the straps so that they are evenly spaced and the handles are directly opposite from each other. The straps should form an even star pattern when viewed from above.

Step 3 is to mark the location of the straps using something that can be seen on the black webbing. In my case, I used a silver Sharpie.

Step 4 is to grab a needle and thread and sew the straps in place.

Here is the finished version. You can see the short line of stitching that holds the ends of the handles/straps to the center belt.

The thread is not required to be load-bearing. It serves only to keep the straps from wandering off. This modification makes it incredibly easy to straighten things out after washing, but means that the brew hauler can only be used on a single size of carboy. In my opinion it is very worth it.

An Egg Timer

I just had a perfectly cooked boiled egg. That's not terribly unusual. The unusual part is that for once I have confidence that I can do it again whenever I want. All thanks to a brilliantly designed egg timer.




Sabrina found this when we were wandering through Crate and Barrel. I'm going to provide some info on exactly how it works, since the packaging leaves a little to be desired.

The timer is simply a clear plastic egg with a layer of temperature sensitive material in the middle. It is placed in the boiling water with the eggs, and the red portion slowly changes to black as the eggs cook.

This is what it looks like as time progresses:



























Note the difference in how the scale looks between the first picture and these two. When the egg is under water, the scale is easier to read, partially due to the curvature of the top surface.

I store it in the fridge with my eggs. I figure it is important that they start off at the same temperature. Then I drop it into the boiling water at the same time as the eggs.

The brilliance of this design is that it doesn't matter what temperature the water is. (Like if you add a bunch of eggs to a small amount of water, if you cook at a different altitude, if you sometimes salt the water, or even if you turn off the heat at some point.) The time fluctuates, but the timer compensates and reads correctly based on heat transfer. Not bad for $5.

The one downside is that there is no audible alert that your eggs have reached the desired level of hardness. You have to check on it periodically. For me, this is not a big deal. I have started cooking eggs while doing other things in the kitchen. (Like washing dishes, cleaning, cooking, etc.) This keeps me in the same room, so it is easy to glance into the pot every few minutes  (Or to fish out the timer with a spoon if it is too difficult to see through the bubbling water and steam.)

Blue is Terrible

This is a quick follow up to my post a few months ago about Sharpie Gel Highlighters.

At the time I wrote the post, I was still ecstatic over the discovery of this wondrous innovation. Now, after I have had a chance to use more than just the yellow one, I'm going to reply with the sage advice won from experience.

These are the best highlighters I have ever used, with one small exception.

The blue one is awful. After I took the following picture, I threw the blue one away.

The purpose of a highlighter is to draw attention to things. The four other colors are brilliant and obvious.The blue one can barely be seen on paper.

If anything, the blue shows up better in the above picture than it does in person.

I now understand why I couldn't find the five color set in stores. If you are going to buy them, go with the four pack. It has yellow, orange, green, and pink. All four of these colors are vibrant and easy to see. Don't spend the extra money to get the blue one. It is not worth it.

Soldering Irons

One of my readers asked the question recently:

What do you use for soldering?

That was a topic that I hadn't thought of writing about. Today, I fix that.

Soldering is a vital skill for playing with electronics. Breadboards and twisting wires together are useful for prototyping, but they will only get you so far. They leave much to be desired when you want something reliable and durable.

Soldering is one of the best ways to make electrical connections. It is easy to learn, and all it takes is a good bit of practice to become proficient.

But, I have to admit that decent tools make it much, much easier to learn.

Like many, I started off soldering with a very cheap soldering iron. It was old, underpowered, and not temperature-controlled. But, it was free.

There are several problems with cheap soldering irons. If it is a low-wattage model, it will take a while to get up to temperature. Trying to solder with an iron that is too cool can actually increase the likelihood of damaging some of the more delicate and temperature sensitive electronic components. The iron is too cool to melt the solder effectively, but it is hot enough to cause harm. This is usually made worse since you will be holding it against the part you are trying (and failing) to solder for a much longer time than usual.

If it is overpowered, or if even a lower-wattage one is left on for too long without using it, it will get too hot. This will make it more likely to damage things as well. Using an iron that is too hot has caused me to lift the traces off of a circuit board more times than I would like to admit.


That is what I started with. I currently own three different soldering irons:

My workhorse is a Weller W60P purchased from Altex for about $70. (As a side note, Altex is one of my favorite stores. It is one of the few remaining electronics stores that still sells soldering tools and equipment. However, they no longer carry this model.)

The W60P is 60 watts, so it has plenty of power and heats up in about a minute. It has a temperature-controlled tip, so it never gets too hot. I have never damaged a circuit board using this iron. It is a joy to use.

The only problem with the W60P is that the temperature-controlled tip doesn't get hot enough for some of the higher temperature solders used in some electronics. It is not adjustable without replacing the tip. This is why I have a cheap backup for when I need something hotter.

My high-temperature backup is a Craftsman model 113.540420. This cost about $12. It is 45 watts and without temperature control. It gets more than hot enough to work with high temperature solders.

I have the third soldering iron for portability. Sometimes it is terribly inconvenient to be tied to an electrical outlet. For those situations I have a butane-powered BernzOmatic Soldering Torch purchased from Lowes. It cost about $20. It can get very, very hot. It is suited more for soldering wires than for delicate work. It is incredibly convenient to have around. I use it mostly for working on my car, since I don't have the luxury of a garage or outdoor outlets at my apartment. The hot knife tip is also useful for cutting nylon rope.

Since it doesn't have a built in igniter, I keep a butane lighter stored with it.

That is my fleet of soldering irons. Note that the cord to the W60P is not in the best shape. It turns out that using something that gets over 700F near a cord that melts around 320F can be problematic at times.

This is why it is important to have a proper stand. In addition to avoiding melted cords, the stand also prevents the soldering iron from rolling off the table. Since things like laps, legs, and feet are typically below the edge of a table, and soldiering irons are incredibly hot, the importance of a stand cannot be overstated.

Don't forget to dampen the sponge for periodically cleaning the oxidized solder from the tip of the hot iron.

This is another useful and inexpensive tool to have around. Everyone needs a helping hand every once in a while. It takes one hand to hold the soldering iron and a second to hold and apply the solder. That doesn't leave many hands to hold the work. Most of the time it is ok setting the work on a table. However, sometimes things need to be positioned or held more precisely.

There is one other thing that is required for making a good solder joint:  good solder. I prefer small diameter solder 0.025" or so. It should be rosin core for electrical work. Never use acid core solder. Acid core solder is only for plumbing or structural applications.

60/40 lead/tin solder is good. 63/37 lead/tin solder is better. The 63% lead and 37% tin alloy is the eutectic mixture of these metals. This means that there is a single melting point instead of a melting point range. For any other proportion of lead and tin, one of the two metals starts solidifying first and then the other. If the work is disturbed while the solder is partially solidified, you get a poor connection. Using the eutectic alloy reduces the chances of this happening.

Also, this is a good time to note that you are playing with lead. It is not the friendliest heavy metal out there. Always work outdoors or with proper ventilation. Wash your hands. Eat elsewhere.

When soldering, you will often have the need to de-solder something. My favorite tool for this is solder wick. This is a fine braided copper wire saturated with rosin flux. If this is placed over a solder joint and then heated with an iron, it wicks up the solder and removes it from the joint. This is surprisingly clean and easy to do.

 The other option for removing solder from a circuit board is a solder sucker. It is a spring loaded plunger with a Teflon tip that can withstand high temperatures. You compress the plunger until it clicks in place. Then you melt the solder joint, quickly place the tip of the solder sucker into the molten solder, and press the release button on the side. This releases the plunger and the spring pushes it out causing a rapid vacuum action. This sucks the solder right out of the joint... in theory. I haven't had the best luck with this. Sometimes it works for me, sometimes it doesn't. The tip tends to clog with hardened solder and requires occasional cleaning. I tend to prefer the solder wick.

That sums up my arsenal of soldering equipment. Every tool is not necessary, but each has its uses. This is probably a much longer answer than that reader expected from such a simple question, but it turns out that I had quite a bit to say about it.

Managing Podcasts

I use iTunes to manage my podcasts. It works well, but it is vastly improved with the use of live-updating smart playlists.

What pushed me into figuring this out was using my iPod with my car radio. There was no way to tell which podcasts had already been listened to. To make it worse, the radio only displays part of the podcast title at a time, so it was difficult to tell which episode was which.

I set up a playlist for each of the podcasts I subscribe to which only includes episodes that have not been played. That is what makes it "smart."

As soon as an episode is played, it is removed from the playlist. This happens on the iPod automatically, without having to plug it into a computer or sync with iTunes. That is the beauty of live updating.

Here is how to do it:


First, create a new smart playlist by clicking on the File menu and New Smart Playlist...  (Or Ctrl+Alt+N)

Next, set up the two following rules and make sure that "Live updating" is checked.

The first rule is easy, and will be the same for every podcast you want to set up this way:

• Plays is 0

The second rule needs to be something that will filter all the podcast episodes out of your entire music and podcast library. The secret I discovered to make this work with live updating on the iPod, is to only include data in the rules that exists on the iPod itself. You would think that Apple could disable the "Live Updating" checkbox if you choose data fields that won't work with live updating, but you would be wrong, apparently.  Choosing one of the following has worked well for me:

• Artist contains [Artist Name]
• Album contains [Album Name]

It should look like this. 

Note that this requires the artist name to be identical for all episodes of the podcast and unique from the artists of other podcasts or music. This would not work for the two NPR podcasts seen below. Both have NPR as the artist name.

In this case, I used the album name.

Using the new playlists is simple. Just go to "Playlists" on your iPod instead of "Podcasts" when you want to listen. It will show only the new episodes, and they will disappear like magic once they have been listened to. Smart, live-updating magic.

MagSafe Connectors

I love Apple's MagSafe connectors. They are a great way to quickly connect and disconnect a power supply. The magnets guide the connector into place. It is a brilliant piece of engineering and design. And magnets!

My one complaint is that I don't own a MacBook. That means I don't get to have one.

Don't get me wrong; I tried. Getting half of the connector is easy. All you need is a broken MacBook power supply.

The other half is much more difficult. It turns out that they only existed built into MacBooks. A broken one of those is more difficult to come by.


But then, Apple came out with this:  the MagSafe to MagSafe 2 Converter.

And with that tiny $10 adapter, it became easy to get a matched set of connectors. Woo!



Now a side bar in which I describe a different complaint and an opportunity for putting these connectors to good use.

Garmin GPS units used to have really good car docks. There was a series of contacts on the bottom of the GPS. The car charger plugged into the dock, and these contacts created a connection whenever the GPS was clipped in. Whenever you were using your GPS, it was supplied with power.

When my old GPS broke after several years, I purchased a new one. The new dock was disappointing, to say the least. It was just a plastic clip. It worked for holding the GPS in place, but that is all it did.

Power is provided from a separate mini-USB connection on the back. So now, you must plug in power and then the fit the GPS into the dock. Not the end of the world, I admit, but still an annoyance.

To make this easier, I made two adapters which allowed me to use the MagSafe connectors with my new Garmin.




I used the MagSafe to MagSafe2 converter and the male end of a mini USB cable to construct the first adapter. This is the one that attaches to the Garmin's USB port.

Disassembling the converter was not difficult, but I failed to capture any pictures of it. Here is a less-than-adequate description of the process. I used a vice to hold the body of the adapter (cushioned by a towel to avoid scratches), grasped the MagSafe2 end with a pair of pliers, and pried the end off. The adhesive and solder connections came apart relatively easily. Luckily, I did not need to reuse the MagSafe2 connector, it got a little scratched up.

Here you can see the MagSafe side of the adapter. The wires are coming out of the hole in the MagSafe2 side. The USB connector was bent at an angle to allow the wires to sit flat against the Garmin. 

These are the soldering connections:

• I did not use the center-most pin of the MagSafe connector. Only two wires come from the MacBook power adapter. The center pin is connected within the end of that cable, and is used for the LED indicator. There is potential for it to be a useful third connection to supply something other than just power. (Like maybe the traffic antenna?)
• The red wire is the positive side. It is connected to the positive USB pin and the remaining center two pins on the MagSafe connector. The connection is made to two pins so that the connector can be plugged in either direction. 
• The black wire is the negative side. It is connected to the negative USB pin and the outer two pins on the MagSafe connector. 
• There is one more connection that must be made within the USB connector so that the Garmin will recognize the power supply. Mini USB has 5 pins instead of four. That extra pin must be connected to the ground pin with a 17.3K ohm resistor. 

I found two sites that were incredibly helpful with figuring out the electrical connections. The first provided the following table with the pinout for the Garmin power connector.

Pin	Pin Name	Description
1	+5V	5 volts DC
2	data	not connected / float
3	data	not connected / float
X	GND	connected to pin 4 (GND) with 17.3K ohm resistor
4	GND	ground

The second site was the Wikipedia entry for USB. It had helpful diagrams of the standard USB connectors. 

Here you can see the adapter plugged into the Garmin. As you can see, I coated all the electrical connections with heat shrink tubing. I then used epoxy to further protect the wiring and connectors.

Next, I used a few scraps of wire so that the final shape would be mostly rectangular, and covered everything with a piece of larger heat shrink tubing. 

Here you can see the heat shrink tubing is shrunk and holding things together nicely.

Now for a bit more epoxy to keep things nice and rigid. Note that the epoxy was applied with the adapter removed from the Garmin. the objective was to make the adapter more robust, not to adhere it forever in place.

And finally, a bit of double-sided tape to hold it in place. This allows it to be removed if necessary. I have the other end wired permanently behind my dash board. If I want to use the Garmin in a different car, I need to remove the adapter so that my normal USB power supply can be used.


With the first adapter completed, it is now time to discuss the other end. The second adapter that I built goes from the Garmin charging cable to the MagSafe connector. This one was made from the female end of a mini USB to micro USB cable and the MagSafe cable cut off of the MacBook power supply.

The solder connections here were similar, but only two were required.

• Positive pin of the USB connector to the inner two MagSafe pins. 
• Negative pin of the USB connector to the outer two MagSafe pins. 

Here you can see the right-angle Garmin power connector on the left plugged into the female mini USB connector on the adapter.

Here are the two adapters joined together through the power of magnets! (Not by the force.. Vader is not actively involved in the process; he just hangs out on my dashboard.)

And finally, a picture of what it looks like with the Garmin connected to power and clipped into the car mount.

When I am done using the Garmin, I simply unclip it from the mount and pull it away. The MagSafe connector pulls apart smoothly and the end stays behind, resting on the dashboard.

The semi-dangerous part of this is that if someone tried to charge your device with a normal MacBook power adapter, the voltage would be too high (18v) and your device would most likely be destroyed... So, avoid that.

One other limitation is that there are only two wires on the MagSafe connector from the MacBook power adapter. So, if you have a Garmin power adapter with the traffic antenna, the traffic part will not work any more. Only power can be provided through the MagSafe connector.

The Best Highlighter

My triumphant return to blogging is brought to you by...  a highlighter.

Well, not just a highlighter. Some portion of the credit has to go to the constant admonishment from my best friend for failing to post for six months. This one is for you, Mike.

Allow me to introduce you to the Sharpie Gel Highlighter.

Now, these are not your normal, run-of-the-mill highlighters. These are crayons for adults. Magnificant crayons. (You remember how much fun coloring with crayons was, right?)

There are four reasons why I love these things.

1. They do not bleed through the paper. At all. 
2. They are less likely to smudge what you are highlighting. (Not perfect, but pretty good. Keep reading for more on this.)
3. They do not dry out. At all. 
4. It is obvious when the highlighter is low or empty. There is no gradual fading away or annoying period of reduced performance before you eventually get fed up and throw it away.  

Here is an illustration of the smudging.

These are not before and after shots. The picture on the left was scanned; the picture on the right was taken with my cell phone. It turns out that my scanner cannot see the highlighter. I find this fascinating... Anyway, I went to town highlighting these different inks immediately after writing. You can see the amount of smudging. The pencil and Sharpie marker were not affected. Ball point and gel inks were, to some extent. Unlike a normal highlighter, the tip of the gel highlighter was not fouled by the smeared ink. It continued to write in the correct color, without spreading the smudged ink to the next place it was used. 

The next thing I did was try to write over the highlighter. These are the horizontal lines beneath the words written in each ink. Pencil seemed largely unaffected. It wrote ok on the layer of highlighter. The normal ball point pen wrote almost as well. Gel ink had more difficulty and the Sharpie marker didn't like it at all. I had to scribble in the bottom left corner for a while before my Sharpie marker would write again. 

I also like the vibrant yellow color of this highlighter. I have only tried the yellow so far; the others are on their way from Amazon. I couldn't find the five-color set of these locally.

The only other drawback is that these are less precise than a chisel tip highlighter. The changing shape of the tip as it is used makes it more difficult to write exactly where you intend. This has never bothered me, but if you are more of a perfectionist, you should keep that in mind. 

Craftsman Cap Wrench

I love well-made tools. Objects that serve their purpose in a steadfast, understated, and seemingly effortless manner.  The Craftsman Cap Wrench Bottle Opener is one such tool. The name is slightly deceptive since it operates with a prying motion, and not the twisting motion you would tend to expect from a wrench, but I am willing to overlook that small marketing flaw. 

Like all bottle openers, it is a very simple tool. Its entire purpose is to apply a small bit of leverage to pop the caps off of bottles of beer.

Upon first glance, it doesn't look all that special. There is the obvious attempt to appeal to fans of their hand tools. It appears to be a good excuse to get you to spend $15 on a bottle opener, most likely as a gift. The beauty of the design is not obvious until you actually use it.

First, a short description. There is a raised dome built into the center of the openingrench. This pushes against the center of the bottle cap and acts as the fulcrum. There are two metal ears on that catch the edge of the cap. These are at opposite ends:  one by the handle and one on the far end. You can use either one, resulting in a prying up or prying down motion respectively. In the picture below you can see the unused ear by the handle, with the edge of the cap caught by the ear on the other side. This would be for the prying down motion.

The dome has the secondary purpose of preventing the cap from falling down into the opening where the combination of the two ears could make it difficult to remove. That pitfall is cleverly avoided.

The really beautiful design feature is how the two ears interact. When you catch the edge of the cap with one ear, the other pushes against the opposite side of the cap, preventing the wrench from slipping off. It takes almost no effort to keep the wrench on the cap. It almost feels like the weight of the wrench is enough by itself to open the bottle. It is incredibly easy to use. 

Sure, you probably don't really need such a massive chunk of forged steel to open a beer bottle, but if you're anything like me you will want your own as soon as you use one.